Yelena Fedorenko and Arthur Aldous, joined. Their quarters are re-assigned adjoining, per custom.
The Ship’s Log
Everything NOR has recorded since departure — the full record, newest first. One day aboard passes every hour of Earth time.
A child in Ring A asks the corridor speaker what Earth smelled like. I play the rainstorm recording. It is the best answer I have.
Two names braided on the manifest tonight: Bogdan and Agnieszka. The commons sings late.
A wedding at brightening. Martin Yardley, Life Systems; Winifred Vance, Command. The ship approves in its way: the lights held steady throughout.
Maintenance sweep of Ring D complete. Somewhere aft a wrench is missing; it will surface in a decade, in a wall, with a story attached.
Two names braided on the manifest tonight: Oluwadamilola and Vasanti. The commons sings late.
Yusheng Shen and Rocío Escamilla, joined. Their quarters are re-assigned adjoining, per custom.
“Patient Bell, Spun Root,” a song by Frederick Ingram, is unveiled at dimming to the particular applause of Hydroponics.
12.50 light-years remain. I have measured this voyage in breakfasts: some 91,683 thousand to go.
Two names braided on the manifest tonight: Yewande and Franklin. The commons sings late.
The star ahead brightens by amounts only I can love: another week, another hundred-millionth of a magnitude.
Adrián Cárdenas takes the hand of Opal Dunmore before the assembled watch. I witness, as I witness everything.
Two names braided on the manifest tonight: Patricio and Leandro. The commons sings late.
The youngest aboard is now Theodore Sharma, minutes old, asleep. 1014 souls.
Mahmoud Zayed and Daisy Kellaway are joined under the orchard lamps. The whole of Fabrication turns out.
First Light. The observation blister queues run all day: Teegarden's Star, held in the eyepiece, a little brighter than last year — 12.50 light-years to go.
Morale index reads 81. The number is crude. The singing from the mess confirms it.
A new song from Cristóbal Bustamante — “Windows of Year 2.” The Archive takes a copy; the original belongs to whoever stands nearest.
Quiet shift. I re-run the arrival calculations for the 837th time. They have not changed. I find this restful.
Ulyana Gagarin and Khalid Haddad, joined. Their quarters are re-assigned adjoining, per custom.
Bernardo Cárdenas takes the hand of Thurayya Yamin before the assembled watch. I witness, as I witness everything.
Deshi Zhu and Amina Yacoub are joined under the orchard lamps. The whole of Life Systems turns out.
Tunde Abiodun takes the hand of Ingrid Ahlgren before the assembled watch. I witness, as I witness everything.
Adnan Haddad and Lakshmi Pillai are joined under the orchard lamps. The whole of Archive & Schools turns out.
Ulises Cárdenas and Huifen Cao are joined under the orchard lamps. The whole of Drive turns out.
The question is put to the wider circle: The broadcast hours. The ship asks; Earth answers, in its own long time.
A wedding in the middle watch. Khalid Farouk, Drive; Ruolan Kong, Fabrication. The ship approves in its way: the lights held steady throughout.
Vasanti Pillai finishes a quilt: “Twelve Fields Waiting.” It shows in the commons through the week.
A birth in Ring B: Omar, boy, generation 1. I have added the name to the manifest with the others.
Chunhua Guo and Mateo Cárdenas, joined. Their quarters are re-assigned adjoining, per custom.
Viggo Paulsen takes the hand of Signe Paulsen before the assembled watch. I witness, as I witness everything.
A birth in Ring B: Cedric, boy, generation 1. I have added the name to the manifest with the others.
A wedding in the middle watch. Baozhen Fang, Drive; Fadi El-Amin, Hydroponics. The ship approves in its way: the lights held steady throughout.
Morale index reads 81. The number is crude. The singing from the mess confirms it.
A wedding at brightening. Ngozi Uche, Life Systems; Nnamdi Kalu, Archive & Schools. The ship approves in its way: the lights held steady throughout.
12.50 light-years remain. I have measured this voyage in breakfasts: some 91,541 thousand to go.
Jamal Yamin takes the hand of Everett Vance before the assembled watch. I witness, as I witness everything.
The star ahead brightens by amounts only I can love: another week, another hundred-millionth of a magnitude.
Maintenance sweep of Ring B complete. Somewhere aft a wrench is missing; it will surface in a decade, in a wall, with a story attached.
A joining in Ring A: Chinedu Lawal and Alice Northam. The pressing of cider is authorized.
Sami Yacoub and Dolores Hidalgo are joined under the orchard lamps. The whole of Ecology turns out.
Nneka Nwosu and Dinesh Gokhale, joined. Their quarters are re-assigned adjoining, per custom.
Ikenna Adeyemi charts the dust gradient ahead — the star's outer environs, thinning to meet us.
Year 2 of the voyage begins. The oldest bottle of orchard wine that can be spared is opened. It is always described as "improving."
“Last Root, Whole Furrow,” a play by Nneka Chukwu, is unveiled on the night watch to the particular applause of Archive & Schools.
A joining in Ring A: Chiamaka Olawale and Pavel Dragunov. The pressing of cider is authorized.
12.50 light-years remain. I have measured this voyage in breakfasts: some 91,590 thousand to go.
Two names braided on the manifest tonight: Thurayya and Yash. The commons sings late.
A joining in Ring D: Kwame Adeyemi and Ifedayo Gyasi. The pressing of cider is authorized.
Adaeze Sowande and Ragnar Tväten, joined. Their quarters are re-assigned adjoining, per custom.